The Fortuna Huskies dominated the El Molino Lions in every aspect of their season opening football game last Friday night, resulting in a 48-0 win by the home team. The Huskies appeared to be in mid-season form as they methodically dismantled the visiting Lions. The Fortuna domination started up front as both the offensive and defensive line surge was too much for the El Molino front. That apparent mismatch saw the Huskies score on their first six possessions of the game. In contrast, by the time the Huskies were up 41-0, the Lions had just one first down on offense and that was the result of a Fortuna penalty.

Fortuna opened the scoring on their first possession of the game, taking the ball 60 yards in nine plays before junior quarterback Jacob Hough dove the final yard into the end zone on a keeper. After a quick possession by El Molino, Fortuna showed they could score quickly as Hough connected with wide receiver Kyle Weigman for a 52 yard completion. One play later, running back Colton Ross sped the final seven yards to the end zone. Fortuna continued the ground attack as backs Brett Renner and Travis Milich scored touchdowns on running plays from scrimmage. To show some versatility, the Huskies went back to the air as quarterback Jacob Hough went over the top to a wide open Kyle Weigman in the corner of the end zone. Milich added a 40-yard touchdown run before halftime and Josiah Hughes ran in a second-half score. Placekicker Bryant Head went 6 for 7 in PAT attempts.

In a near perfect performance, Fortuna mistakes were few. Penalties were minimal, turnovers were not a problem. The usual first game jitters and bobbles in the backfield were practically non existent. Fortuna finished the game with 423 yards of offense, with 323 coming from the ground attack. Running back Travis Milich led the way with 117 yards and 2 touchdowns, quarterback Jacob Hough finished with 7 for 10 passing and 100 yards through the air. The team speed of the Huskies was impressive and the execution was near flawless. What the Huskies can do for an encore will be determined Friday night when Fortuna hosts Healdsburg. The Greyhounds are a consistent program the finds themselves in the postseason yearly and they are coming off a narrow 20-17 road win over Piedmont.

Friday night will clarify whether the Huskies are truly as good as we saw last week or perhaps El Molino was truly that bad. The Fortuna junior varsity was not so lucky in their season opener as they fell to El Molino by a score of 18-8. First game miscues by the Huskies did them in as a fumble at the Lions one yard line prevented a first half touchdown for Fortuna. Another Husky fumble on a punt turned the ball over to the opponents and that led to the only score of the first half and a 6-0 deficit. The JV Huskies scored on their first possession of the second half, a 8-yard scamper by runningback Chanse Wilder. Fortuna even took the lead on a two-point conversion run by Wilder. However, El Molino made all the big plays from there. Fortuna can build on the fact that quarterback Zach Hugh ran and threw the ball well and tight end/linebacker Robbie Yates made some big plays on both sides of the ball.

Photo by Mark Lourenzo/Beacon

Fortuna senior runningback Travis Milich (21) ran wild on the El Molino defense in the Aug. 24 season opener at Fortuna High. Milich ran for over 100 yards from scrimmage, scoring two touchdowns in the process and the Huskies looked to be in mid-season form in their 48-0 win over the Lions. Home cooking will once again be on the table Friday as the Huskies host the Healdsburg Greyhounds for another important non-league test.